Tag Archives: goddess

Wish I may….wish I might

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My thoughts often wondered to the concept of ‘putting it out there in the Universe’, in order to take advantage of the 3fold law of return.  You know, the one that states that whatever energy you put out into the world, will come back three fold. Prayers, chants, wishes, spells, and that sort are all methods used to put it to the Universe.

Sounds perfect. It even sounds fair, doesn’t it?

But Life is not fair. The Universe doesn’t care what you want. This idea might be cynical and depressing, but from my own experiences, the Universe chooses to ignore my prayers, energies, and even efforts to reach my goals.

Arguably, people tend to offer excuses as to why a spell might not work, but that doesn’t explain plain-hard-work doesn’t seem to work for me either.

This doesn’t mean I feel it happens to everyone. Others may find it works for them, but sometimes I feel my bad luck stems from a certain level of Chaos that rules my life where one methods that works for everyone else is likely to blow up in my face. Its like being left handed in a right-handed world.

So I’m curious of my readers out there on their thoughts of this idea of ‘putting it out there’. Does it work for you? Do you agree/disagree? Post in comments.

Wednesday Witch: Phyllis Curott

philliscurotFor the Wednesday witch, I wanted to cover Phyllis Curott, an attorney and Wiccan priestess, as well as author.

I’ve read Witch Crafting: A Spiritual Guide to Making Magic , and found she touches upon the heart of magic, the spirituality of the Wiccan belief system. She covers more in the way of true spirituality rather than practice.

Her site, unfortunately, doesn’t offer much other than a list of her works and some back history, but I still felt she was well worth mentioning.

Here is a video on some of her thoughts-

Her views on forgiving someone who hurts us…

The Wednesday Witch- LokiB101010

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Today’s Wednesday witch is LokiB101010, a vlogger on Youtube that has a number of interesting videos on the topic of witchcraft.

She’s from New Zealand with a lovely accent, and she shares ‘how to’ type videos as well as sharing/talking videos.

Clearing incense- This video includes a basic recipe for clearing/cleansing.

Portable Altar- This video covers her portable altar

Pagan tag- This video is an ‘about her’ type video, where she shares her beliefs and practices.

She speaks plainly and to the point, and I enjoyed her series of video where she gives up chocolate. (I feel her pain…being I’m quitting sugar this month).

Post in comments, and remember to ‘like’ her videos, and subscribe. I feel it’s a worthwhile share.

 

Preparing for Ostara

EggI am so ready for spring, so sick of the damp chill and constant threat of cold rain and potential for snow. Bring on the sun and warm breezes.

I can smell spring in the air, and you can see the stirrings of flowers and animals. With the spring equinox on the 20th of this  month, its time for

 

Make Offering Stones

Make Egg Shakers

Mead Recipes

Ostara Recipes

Here is a video CharmingPixieFlora sharing some fun ideas to celebrate Ostara.

Wednesday Witch: Mirth and Reverence

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Today’s Wednesday Witch is a youtube vlogger, and her channel- Mirth and Reverence .

Annie, is a lovely (and wonderfully prolific) Vlogger with tons of videos on many pagan topics. What I really enjoy is how she sits and chats to the camera, as if I’ve been invited over for tea or coffee, and we’re just discussing things.

Her style includes an easy going manner with forthright answers to the myriad of question you’d expect from a teacher’s channel on pagan beliefs.  Her background includes solitary and coven work, she shares practices and history, and discusses opinion and facts. 

Some videos you might enjoy;

Lunar phases and magical alignment

Riding Energy Tides

If you visit her page, get some coffee or tea, maybe a snack;  You will be there for a while. She has TONS of videos there.

I hope you enjoy. If you know of any pagans/witches you think are worthwhile to be added to this post series, please list in comments.

A step off the path

Copy of IMG_0840Once you realize you’re pagan, you tend to feel connected to all things; this will flag now and then. Some may find a sense of being lost or disconnected with the God/dess.

Like any direction we take, taking a step off a pre-determined path, often leads us to find some unexpected wonders we wouldn’t explored otherwise.

Here are a few tips to help you along the way;

- Take some time off of being pagan. Sometimes stepping away from your tradition/faith enables us to get to know ourselves in another light. Wicca and the pagan paths will wait for you. There are no punishments for stepping back now and then, and in the meantime you can try new things.

- Explore other faiths. Sometimes another spiritual path offers insight in meaning for an aspect you didn’t understand before. Buddhism, for instance, help me put many beliefs into perspective. Even re-learning an old faith provides insight and clarity for you.

- Explore the depths of your soul. Ask yourself ‘why’ in regards to feeling disjointed. Learn to meditate, take long walks, sit in stillness, or explore methods of divination to find out how you tick. Do you feel a general disconnect, perhaps you feel depressed, or maybe you feel a bit disillusioned with the path you’re on? Explore the causes of your feelings. This can help find a way back.

- Learn to play. Sometimes, religion becomes too orthodox and we lose that sense of free-form spirituality. Incorporate more ‘fun’ in ritual and daily activities to express your religion. this could take the form of dance, crafts, games, silliness, and ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking.

I think its natural that you find yourself feeling a bit lost or disconnected. Its like the honeymoon phase of a relationship doesn’t last, but instead, offers you a new stage of Life to explore.

What are your tips for those feeling a bit off their spiritual path? Post in comments.

Cakes and Ale Choices

I’m not much of a traditionalist when it comes to ritual. Sure, I learned the ‘proper’ way, but more importantly, I learned the reasons why we cast circle the way we do. once you learn rules, you can bend them to your liking. Its not so different with what to serve for cakes and ale ceremony.

Why do we have cakes and ale? the main reason is to ‘ground’ the energy you raise during ritual. There are other ways to ground, from ground-and-center techniques, to snapping fingers, to feasting.

There is also the element of building bonds with a group with the act of sharing food.

Traditional cakes and ale? If you want to get picky, you serve what they did in the good ‘ol days’. Origins of the ritual arise from various places (depending on your tradition) but I’ve known of recipes that go back a few generations. This was often cookie like confections or biscuit like, with wine, ale, or mead. Making from scratch also lends to adding a bit of magick while creating the cakes, and adding what you need for the intended ritual.

Simple Sabbat Cakes

bannock- a recipe for a simple, heavy, but tasty bread

Ritual recipes- a couple of recipes for ritual use.

Non-traditional cakes and ale? With the growing population of individuals choosing vegan, gluten free, or refusing alcohol. fear now, there’s plenty of choices for you too;

Pre-made cake can include anything from the cake with frosting, to breakfast muffin types, pound cakes, or even something like cornbread. You can use cookies, brownies, biscuits, or just about any single serving or sliced confection.

You can also select gluten-free or vegan varieties, switching flour for the gluten free flour.

Gluten free recipes

Vegan chocolate cake

Sparkling juice. I like serving this because its refreshing, more healthy, and adds enough ‘special’ to the occasion. You can select flavors such as grape, apple, or even pomegranate. You can also make your own.

Regular juice or punch. I often find sparkling juice in the grocery store, but you can make your own sparkling juice by mixing juice with seltzer water. You can often select fruit juices to help symbolize the ritual, such as pomegranate for harvest, or strawberry for one of the ‘strawberry moon’.

I would also suggest offering more than one choice. On the plate we serve for cakes, I will sometimes offer fruit along with sliced homemade cake (such as banana bread, cupcakes, etc). It still serves the same purpose of grounding and centering, but also providing unity in the act of sharing food.

What are your favorite traditions with cakes and ale? Do you have a favorite recipes, or preference to the types of food/drink served? Post in comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Joy and Sorrow Ritual

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Joys and Sorrows ritual. I wanted to share a bit more in-depth on the topic of sharing joys and sorrow in group ritual.

There are a few reasons why you might want to incorporate this;

  • It builds bonds. Knowing the joy/sorrow of fellow members provides each member some insight on what they’re going through. Empathy and compassion might be enough to keep someone going through troubles afloat, while the person enduring the hardship might find a bit more light in an otherwise dark life.
  • Offers support and help. I also find that sharing those bits of your life offers members the opportunity in case someone could help. A member mentioning being out of work might find a someone’s job looking for employment, or getting the word out. Another member, might find an offer of help to get out of their situation, or advice.
  • It reminds of us balance. Even solitary, you can light a candle for joys and sorrows. It acknowledges the hardships we must endure to learn and grow, but also reminds us to focus on joys that we might otherwise take for granted.

How to do the Joy and Sorrow ritual; Select a tray or plate, or a bowl filled with sand. You can use tea lights, birthday candles, or other candles. One for each joy or sorrow.

Ask each member, or if you’re solitary, state out loud the joy and sorrow you want recognized and light the candle. Take a moment to consider- 1) what lesson will you learn, or how can you grow from the sorrow, and 2) bask in the joy you feel to celebrate that.

Let the candles burn through the rest of the ritual and blow out at the end of ritual, giving thanks for what Life/the Gods/Higher Power/etc gives you.

Post in comments thoughts and ideas for this. I’d love to hear from you.

Visions, dreams, and symbols

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Crystal ball gazing, also known as scrying, is a learned skill. You don’t need a crystal ball, either. You can use a candle, a bowl of water, smoke, any shiny objects, or a mirror. The idea is that you give yourself a blank slate to peer into in order to ‘see visions’. Theses are not seen with the eyes, but with the spirit.

Do you need to be psychic to scry? No. Scrying is a simple practice stemming from sensory deprivation. Those with a gift glean more such as insight or foretelling, or vision of worth. Without a trained mind, you can often find the vision won’t make any sense, or they represent a number of manifestations such as fear or other negative aspects of your psyche. Its thoughts bubbling up from the sub-conscious.

How to scry? You’ll need time, patience, and practice.

Take 5-10 minutes to sit in silence, empty your mind, and stare at the focus (ball, crystal, bowl, mirror, etc), and let your thoughts go. If your brain starts to think, stop it. Empty the mind. Let thoughts float away like clouds, leaving your mind blank. Eventually, you’ll ‘see’ things in your focus.

When I tried this, I saw a woman’s face turn and look at me. I also glimpsed a spring meadow. I saw smoke, and shapes, but then decided I wasn’t patience enough to continue. I rarely get the quiet ‘alone-time’ for this either.

Don’t forget to jot down notes, sketch what you see, or even write about emotions and anything else you feel is pertinent.

Below are some links that might help explore scrying;

A Short Course in Scrying by hermetic.com

Smoke Scrying (youtube video) by gaswarner

Scrying and Divination Techniques by wingsforthespirit.

Fire Scrying, Mirrors, Bowls, and Pendulums by earthwitchery.com

And if you want to make your own scrying mirror, check out this link by bigclive.com with an easy to follow tutorial.

 

Croning….is not for sissies.

The last time I spoke with my doctor, she told me I was very likely going through ‘the change’….you know, menopause.  I’m 45 years old, so I suppose that makes sense.

Menopause means ‘end of menstruation’. I’m reaching the end of child-bearing years. I had that permanently fixed anyway, (I had the Essure procedure) and doesn’t bother me.   It’s the hot flashes, and all the other hormonal issues that come along for the fun ride of menopause.

In the pagan traditions, menopause is seen as a rite of passage to be celebrated, as the time a woman reaches the age where she is ‘grandmother’ or the ‘wisewoman’. I’m not sure if I fit either of these fit for me. My son is only 12, so no grandkids yet, and wise? Um… I don’t feel wise.

I like the idea of celebrating, pretty much anything. Its one of the things that I loved about the pagan spirituality; that so many things are worth celebrating and not negative.

So I found some pages on the topic and thought I’d share. After all, let’s make the best of ‘the change’.

This page, at About.com shares some ideas on how to celebrating the croning process.

LadyOfTheHearth offers a page for croning.

Tangledmoon’s page on a croning ritual

HecateCaudron’s page that includes a solitary Croning ritual.

What are your thoughts on the topic of croning? Have you had a croning ritual? Want one? Ever joined in one? Share in comments.